Mahabharata 9.14.8 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 14, Shloka 8

Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)

Devanagari script

नैतादृशं दृष्टपूर्व राजन्‌ नैव च न श्रुतम्‌

Transliteration

naitādṛśaṃ dṛṣṭapūrva rājann naiva ca na śrutam

Translation

Wika ni Sanjaya: O Hari, kailanma’y hindi pa nakita ang ganito, ni hindi man lamang narinig. Inilalarawan ang sandaling ito bilang walang kapantay—isang pagyanig sa budhi sa loob ng salaysay ng digmaan—kung saan ang mga nakasanayang tuntunin ng labanan at asal ng tao ay waring nalampasan o nabaligtad.

Word by Word

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• etādṛśam: such (like this)
• etādṛśam: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etādṛśa
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• dṛṣṭa-pūrvam: previously seen; seen before
• dṛṣṭa-pūrvam: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dṛṣṭa-pūrva
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• rājan: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• eva: indeed; even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• śrutam: heard
• śrutam: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śruta
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• King (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral and psychological weight of witnessing extreme events: when actions in war cross familiar boundaries, they are marked as 'unseen and unheard-of,' prompting reflection on how adharma can escalate beyond precedent and how testimony (Sañjaya’s) frames ethical judgment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that what is occurring on the battlefield is unprecedented—something neither seen before nor even heard of—signaling a climactic or shocking turn in the events of the Kurukṣetra war.